Police high-handedness in Sabarimala protests (pic via twitter: @kumarnandaj) Kerala Leader of Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress party on Monday (19 November), slammed the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the police excesses against Lord Ayyappa devotees at Sannidhanam, reports The Indian Express.
"Innocent devotees are being arrested, who sought shelter at Valiya Nadappandhal (covered pathway). All are not Sangh Parivar activists, is Kerala under the rule of Hitler?" Chennithala asked.
"Arresting real devotees, who climb the hills to offer prayers, can not be accepted," he added.
"This is not Soviet Russia under Stalin, this is a democratic country. Thousands of police officers are deployed here as if in a bid to instil fear and panic, why? Law and order is the responsibility of the state govt," Union Minister K J Alphons said.
Earlier on Saturday (17 November) night, Kerala police had arrested at least 72 devotees when they decided to stay and protest peacefully after the temple gates were closed. They were carrying out ‘namajapa’ protest outside the Sannidhanam.
P S Sreedharan Pillai, the BJP State Unit President has condemned the wide spread arrests of devotees as 'cruel' and demanded a judicial probe into police excesses. The pilgrims were peacefully protesting at 'Sannidhanam' against the lack of facilities and stringent restrictions imposed by the police at the temple complex, he said.
Today, the Kerala High Court also slammed the Communist government and the police for harassing innocent devotees. In the past too, the court had slammed the communist government for police excesses demanding a report. The administration had arrested more than 3000 people while putting up bail amounts as high as Rs 13 lakh for the arrested devotees.
Also read: Make The Communists Blink First: Why The BJP Shouldn’t Bring An Ordinance For Sabarimala
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.